Micro-NIKKOR 55/2.8 Ai-S: Aperture blades cleaned the quick way

The Nikkor Micro 55/2.8 tends to get oil contaminated on its aperture blades.

The tutorials I found on the web show removing the aperture register, disassembling it and cleaning the aperture blades individually. Then everything is put back together.

This takes a certain amount of effort, and installing the aperture blades requires a good night's sleep and a lot of patience.

I wanted to see if it didn't work the short way too.




The candidate from my A portfolio.

This means that nothing should go wrong when cleaning






The oil contamination is sufficient to stick the aperture blades together.




After removing the bayonet ring, the retaining ring of the rear lens unit can be unscrewed and its individual elements can be lifted.




The rear lens unit consists of four elements.




The aperture blades are located directly underneath.

But also the next lens, as my “dipstick” shows.

This means that when you apply the cleaning remedy, you don't want any of it to get on the glass.




First I try isopropyl alcohol.

But it doesn't clean the back side of the blades satisfactorily.

But Zippo lighter fluid does the job.






The lighter fluid runs around the blades and dissolves the oil.

I move the aperture blades and dab them with cleaning swabs, in several passes.

Finally, quick drying with the hot air device.

Gentle and not too hot.

Some small droplets of the emulsion splashed onto the lens underneath.

I remove these with a cleaning swab and isopropyl alcohol.






I wipe away any remaining streaks with a piece of my Zeiss lens cleaning cloth.

Exceptionally dry so that no new streaks appear.




The inside of the bayonet ring is also cleaned with alcohol.

The lens unit is reassembled and screwed together.

The aperture lever on the bayonet ring is coupled to the lever in the tube.

It's easy here.

A little trial and error will help you find the right spot (if a documentary photo is not available).






The aperture jumps again as it should.




„We at the table” know that the oil will come back again.

Dismantling a complex lens like the Micro-Nikkor and fully cleaning it means there is a high risk that it will then be misaligned and no longer work properly.

So it's enough for today, tomorrow and the day after

For those who dare to do a complete cleaning, Richard Haw shows how it's done:


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All information provided without guarantee and use at your own risk.

Andreas Thaler said:

For those who dare to do a complete cleaning, Richard Haw shows how it's done:

Repair: Micro-Nikkor 55mm f/2.8 Ai-S

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richardhaw.com

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I followed Richard Haw's tutorial for that lens, and it worked out nicely. I don't recall it being particularly difficult, just messy, as focus helicoids generally are. Although it's easy to reassemble helicoids incorrectly, you'll know it because lens won't focus through it's entire range correctly, or other parts will be obviously out of alignment (screws in wrong location, etc). 55/2.8 AI-S is a little more complicated than most because it has multiple helicoids, but it can be a real bargain for the DIYer!

I've had bad experiences dismantling lenses because the adjustment didn't always work afterwards. Although I had marked all the important points beforehand. In some cases the distance scale on the lens was no longer valid. So I try to do cleaning and re-greasing while assembled.

The aperture blades of course will continue to get oily until all the oil is removed from the tube. That is the price for the short but safe way

Shoot stopped down? Not a big price to pay with macro work.

Very nice tutorial, with all of the appropriate caveats.

BrianShaw said:

Very nice tutorial, with all of the appropriate caveats.

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Thank you

Helge said:

Shoot stopped down? Not a big price to pay with macro work.

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This is not necessary for me as the effort required for a quick cleaning is not that great.

Usually I remove the bajonett, the aperture ring (two small screws), turn the focus towards 0,25m, remove the three screws which hold the lens barrel to the outer focus tube, take the lens barrel out an remove the three screws which hold the rear lens set with the aperture to the front lens set and then I can easily clean the aperture blades.

It's been eight months since I cleaned the aperture blades. Today I wanted to see how my Nikkor Micro was doing.

The aperture blades were again heavily oiled. And after I had set the Micro to its largest aperture, the aperture blades were stuck in the aperture register. So the next cleaning was due.




Because of its complexity, I don't want to take this lens apart to remove the old grease on the helicoids, which is the cause of the oiliness, so I'm sticking with the quick approach.

A look at the helicoids shows that today was not the last cleaning. There is plenty of grease to be seen here.

But the focus ring rotates with very good damping and that is not always the case with this lens. So I am happy with the condition and quickly cleaning the aperture is easy here.

Here is today’s cleaning routine:




Bayonet ring with aperture coupling and the rear lenses are removed.




A few drops of benzinum on the aperture blades, but not too much so that the lens underneath does not become contaminated.




Move the aperture blades with this lever, dab off any oil residue and repeat the process until the aperture moves freely again.




This also cleans the other side of the aperture blades.




The retaining ring for the rear lenses can be tightened without a spanner wrench.

There are no nasty surprises when disassembling and assembling, the whole thing takes about 20 minutes. It can be done quicker if you are experienced.


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All information provided without guarantee and use at your own risk.

Hello Andreas!

Andreas Thaler said:

There are no nasty surprises when disassembling and assembling, the whole thing takes about 20 minutes. It can be done quicker if you are experienced.

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But it will not last for a long time.

I wrote four weeks ago: "Usually I remove the bajonett, the aperture ring (two small screws), turn the focus towards 0,25m, remove the three screws which hold the lens barrel to the outer focus tube, take the lens barrel out an remove the three screws which hold the rear lens set with the aperture to the front lens set and then I can easily clean the aperture blades."
Tomorrow I'll have a 55/2.8 Micro Nikkor here to clean, so I'll take some photos of the dismantling steps.

forest bagger said:

Hello Andreas!
But it will not last for a long time.

I wrote four weeks ago: "Usually I remove the bajonett, the aperture ring (two small screws), turn the focus towards 0,25m, remove the three screws which hold the lens barrel to the outer focus tube, take the lens barrel out an remove the three screws which hold the rear lens set with the aperture to the front lens set and then I can easily clean the aperture blades."
Tomorrow I'll have a 55/2.8 Micro Nikkor here to clean, so I'll take some photos of the dismantling steps.

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I don't mind and it's good practice.

After my previous experience with my practice projects, I'm not going to touch the helicoids. The risk that the adjustment or the distance scale on the lens will be wrong is too great for me.

Maybe you could flood the micro with benzinum or Zippo lighter fluid and then lubricate it, but that's not a pleasant job.

Andreas Thaler said:

After my previous experience with my practice projects, I'm not going to touch the helicoids.

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For cleaning the aperture you don't touch the helicoids, Andreas!

forest bagger said:

For cleaning the aperture you don't touch the helicoids, Andreas!

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If I don't get enough sleep, it can happen

To permanently remove the oil, the old grease must be removed from the helicoids and the tube, including the aperture control, must be cleaned of oil. Then the helicoids get new grease, which hopefully won't turn into oil for a long time.

The most thorough way to do this is to dismantle the lens, separating the helicoids and then put them back together correctly.

This seems risky to me, especially with the Micro with its very special helicoids, as the distance settings may no longer be correct afterwards.

If you are familiar with the lens, like you, it won't be a problem. But it is my only one and it is in mint condition, so I don't want to overestimate myself.

Andreas Thaler said:

To permanently remove the oil, the old grease must be removed from the helicoids and the tube, including the aperture control, must be cleaned of oil. Then the helicoids get new grease, which hopefully won't turn into oil for a long time.

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If the new grease is of a newly developed formula and has proven its long time stability, there is hope!
But the grease Nikon used to service these old lenses in the last years isn't good - it spreads white dust...

Helge said:

Shoot stopped down? Not a big price to pay with macro work.

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But you’d also have to compose and focus stopped down.